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Winter Spring 2021 Vegas Trip
New Allegiant Stadium complete!
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On the way in on the Strip we did notice some level of crowds, especially on corners, which leads us to think that at least in terms of numbers, Vegas is starting to make a bit of a comeback.
However, on closer inspection, doesn't seem to be much of a gaming crowd, and the stench of marijuana still permeates in front of most of the major casinos on the Strip - meaning that, people are here to party and unwind, which is fine, but not the typical Vegas masses of just a year or more ago, but more of a lower end group not so much here to spend. Not so well dressed, not so good looking, just here to have a good time and not to make any major statement. Is this the same downscale crowd we observed in Fall 2020? Couldn't say for sure - will advise. Perhaps that more ritzy crowd of yesteryear will appear as the weather warms and room rates go back up.
That's not to say that the upscale Vegas crowd is absent - just, you won't find it milling out on the Strip or inside most of the Strip casinos these days, not even inside some of the nicer properties that typically (but not lately) attract the higher end visitors.
When I tipped the bellman who loads our bags on a cart $10., he seemed genuinely grateful. When I gave the bellman who brought the bags up to the suite $25., he said "Thank YOU, " after I said "thank you," to him, which leads me to further believe that the high end crowd is absent. I always give the valet on Day One arrival $5., which isn't a lot, but this time I could tell that the guy really appreciated it. These poor guys seem hungry for tips. I mean they are always happy to get a gratuity, but right now they seem happier than usual.
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We're settled in now. Trip reports (table game results) will be posted time delayed, without pictures at first. I'll come back as we move on to each new property and post the pictures that go along with the chronicle.
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Day 1 Play.
I sat down to play, and my credit line wasn't active because it had been so long since I had played at this property. I went to the cage and they told me it would take up to an hour and a half to re-activate it. An hour and a half, I said? Come on - how about five minutes.
I went back to the table to wait and the pit boss kept checking her screen to see if the activation had gone through. I texted my host and he said not to worry, that they were on it. I watched one shoe, pit boss cut, pass by, and a girl who sat down with five grand and who was flat betting about 700 a hand, eventually lost it all. Other than a pattern (that eventually broke) where no side would go past two, it wasn't much of a shoe. I am glad my money wasn't available for pay on that shoe, although, I probably would have won some on it, but not easily.
After she left I had them break down that shoe and shuffle a new one that I cut. I pulled an 8K marker. This one was off to a rip roaring start. I put 200 on bank, won, 600 on bank, won. I put 1800 on bank and it tied. Darn! I lost my nerve and dropped my bet to a few hunny - and bank won again. And two more times after that. I won the first five hands, all bank, and then a fabulous pattern emerged quickly of that player would go only ONE - this kept up for about 2/3 of the shoe. Over all this was a very easy shoe that followed easily discernible patterns. You'd have had to be a fool to lose at this shoe.
Another player observed my winning came up and played with me, copying, and won handily too. Two Asians who had sat down at the table kept betting against me - and losing. One of them was arguing with the other that they should switch to following me, but, sadly, they did not follow and lost pretty much all their bets until they tossed a 5000 chip on Player to bet against me again. The pit boss wouldn't even accept their bet until she did some research - whatever research that might have been - into WHERE they got the white chip. Finally, they allowed that bet, and they won - that one hand, and then walked away from the table. It wasn't an easy win for them. Player and Bank started with 2, they drew a face card to remain at 2, and then I drew an 8 to drop to 0. I was actually glad they had won that bet even though I lost 500 (dropped down from 1000 after all the delay) against them, and told them so. I didn't begrudge them that case bet. But, all that single bet did is bring them back to even. They didn't win.
I did, about 9700 (plus tipped out 600 to the dealer in terms of side bets), the player who copied me did, but they did not win.
Back at the cage I suggested their cashing it all, but they played that game of where if I had cashed it they would have temp closed my line, so I didn't argue and cashed just 1700 and set aside the 8K in chips.
One session, done for the day. That's the way MDawg does!
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After winning yesterday, I took a victory stroll on the Strip and tipped Elvis a dollar for luck.
Then ensconced in the suite with the wife to eat sushi.
After dinner, I mentioning tipping Elvis and that got her going - with Karaoke. She brought out her portable Karaoke machine microphone, and had us sing the following duet
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and then I sang MY WAY solo, followed by some more risque numbers (nothing to do with Elvis) and her dancing on the tables. And that's the dream Vegas lifestyle in my book, winning, retiring to a nice suite, and chilling with the hot young wife.
HOWEVER, to give you the PSA some seek - it's not all fun and games for everyone. A week ago I got a call from my friend, the one who had a stack of chips like this about a year and a half ago -
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the one who had spent about two years continuously ensconced on a full comp in one of the major Vegas strip casinos, eventually dumping about two million - all he had or could get his hands on. Now he's so broke that he can't afford to fix the broken windows on his German sports car, and he and his girlfriend were 86'ed from a mid level casino on the Strip a couple months or so ago.
Last week she called me and told me that my former high roller friend had beat her up. Why I've become the shoulder to cry on for all these friends of mine who have legal problems, I can't say. She was crying hysterically and was determined to call the police on him - which she did, but the witnesses visiting at her place who also spoke to the police contradicted her account and made her out to be the aggressor. SHE ended up arrested and actually taken to jail and held until her first court appearance two days later. This is actually unheard of for a female to call 911 and end up being the one booked for felony domestic violence.
But it just goes to show where gambling may take some - all the way down the tubes. Both are compulsive gamblers and have lost most everything due to it. She blames him - and certainly he was in dire straits before they even moved in together, but often addiction take two to walk down that lonely path.
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Looking back at that first shoe where I didn't have my line available yet, and couldn't play - it was obvious as it passed along that this was not the greatest shoe. I even said so to the girl who was playing it, as it happened.
And then - the second shoe, the one I won just under ten large on, it was obvious this was a good shoe.
Why people can't grasp that it is quite possible to detect what is happening - as it happens - is beyond me.
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Day Two play
Four shoes - pretty steady climb, there was one hand that was somewhat make or break where I plopped 2K on player and drew threes 7, but she drew three faces to hand me the win. I had a couple shoes that were very good, one that was marginal.
Ended 7700 ahead - but hold on! as I was sitting chatting with the dealer a suit came out of nowhere and declared that I had been "shortchanged" 500 at some point in the past, and had the dealer hand me another 500 chip. So I ended +8200, and had tipped out maybe five hunny or so (via side bets for the dealers, as I do always), along the way.
I had pulled an 8K marker only so that was a clean double - which I consider to be excellent.
A guy sat down at the table and mirrored nearly all my bets, but more or less just flat betting (200 - 300) but still wound up winning. A play mirroring MDawg generals ends in the PLUS,
The computer showed my average bet at 450, but I negotiated it up to 600 with the pit boss.
It is WORK though, make no mistake about it. Requires great concentration and discipline.
This Baccarat dealer too commented that Baccarat is the best game in the house.
Heading to the spa suite she reserved for herself to have lunch with her. Another victorious day.
I haven't been able to cash much of it though because they keep wanting me to deposit or have my line temp. closed. So, I had them cash 3200 and tossed that into the winner's envelope along with 13K in chips now. Don't want to jinx it but the total is pushing +20K now.
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The spa suite she rented for the day, that I spent a couple hours in myself, is the only way to get a private salon, private steam, private treatments, private hot tubs, private everything these days. Why wouldn�t a whale just put this highest end spa suite on perm standby for himself? People just aren�t into health. As it stands, whether this gets comp'ed off or not I wouldn't have a problem with her renting it every now and then.
This is the ONLLLYY way to fly.
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So the story behind this is that one of my best friend's was trying HARD to get with my wife's sister, showering her with expensive gifts and deng for a full year but never even managed to get a kiss off her. (Rookie mistake - spending on a girl before the one year mark.) One night he rented a suite at the Hilton in _______ and assumed that sex was in the air, showed up early with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot on ice, and she eventually called him and said she was showing up late with friends, obviously NOT for sex. He got so upset that he just left, and let her sister and her friends have the suite.
They gave us this bottle free in the spa today, we didn't even open it will probably give it to one of my hosts at another property.
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Day Three play
I started at a standard 100 min table, where pretty much every seat was already filled. The weekend crowd is here early. At the center of the table a few loud drunken kids who kept losing until they placed case bets and then managed to recoup most of their bankrolls until they lost it again. A Vietnamese guy showed at the end with a substantial bankroll and was really doing well, but kept pushing his luck until he, too, lost it all, and scurried away.
The center seat kid was so drunk he couldn't remember what the sides of the cards meant - his less drunken friend had to keep reminding him things like - two sided card and a four sided - Dude! you're done just throw it in. The drunken center kept boasting about how much money he had to play with, but when his friend lost it all and asked him to lend him a couple K, the kid starting singing a different tune of, "Dude, I'm so broke! you don't even know how broke I am."
Finally the guys asked for their last two grand from the pit boss, and given the dichotomy at the table - people betting against each other and the drunken noisiness of losers (drunken noisiness of winners is one thing, of losers, quite another), as soon as they opened a higher limit table - I left, ahead 500 which I had managed to hold on to with difficulty. I had pulled an eight grand marker so I had 8500.
At the new table, new shoe, I played for a while, got up some, then was down as much as about -6K, put down 2500 (case bet), won, and along the way had another occasion for a second close to case bet too. Case bet to the extent of - I would have had to pull another marker if I had lost. However, I also had a great chop where I played 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 (then got a tie and chickened out on the 3000 bet, which at that moment I even had 300 on the side for the dealer), eased back to 1000 (with 100 on the side for the dealer), won, then lost the next hand, regrouped - eventually got down to that second case bet, but after an 11 player run in one shoe, and 11 bank run in another shoe later, I was over ten grand ahead. At this point the dealer, who had easily dropped a grand maybe more into the toke box by way of my side bets, started hinting at that maybe I should quit. Not by way of any Papal Bull
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but definitely more than just a mild suggestion. I took the hint, although I had just ordered another non-alcoholic beverage, and wanted to tip the server a twenty versus my usual fiver. As I pulled it out it tore in half, caught on my 18K gold money clip,
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and the dealer joked about how was sure that they would prefer a ripped twenty to an intact five, and to leave it up to them which one they wanted. The server, whom I'd seen walking around but hadn't been the one who had been taking care of me previously, was form fitted into her cocktail dress to the point where it was distracting, and smiled as she assured me that the torn bill would be no problem.
So I walked - 10,400 ahead for the day, making the three day tally about +30K now! It's ALLL good.
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Started with this
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in the suite, which got me thinking that things were really going to happen downstairs today.
First off my usual table had this insane Asian girl sitting at it, stacked, thin, shapely and very pretty. Some other Asian guy sat down next to her in the center spot, and I assumed he was with her, but turns out he wasn't. He bet recklessly and lost his entire bankroll, a few grand, relatively quickly.
As soon as he left, I moved right next to her and introduced myself. We got the fact that she had a boyfriend and I was married out of the way right off the bat, so there was none of that, instead we just tried to reason through the shoes together. Her problem, which I tried to point out to her, was that she wasn't pressing into the runs. She said that she was afraid to change her bet on the runs because it seemed like she would lose every time she increased. She also kept saying that she had this thing about constantly getting a nine without the ten or face to back it up.
Anyway, we had a couple of good shoes with some decent side by side runs, and she ended more or less even and left.
I kept playing, and occasionally another player would come up, play hard and pretty much lose, and leave. I was never up more than 2500 and at the end of the third shoe I left 2000 ahead, with a 600 average. I had a couple big bets, one 3000 and one 2000 (the 2000 was my final bet actually, which brought me back to +2000), and I won both of them. No case bets today. I did get as low as -2000 for the session at one point.
One thing that in an odd way threw me off a tad was that this one particular dealer simply ASSUMED that I was going to get a natural or something good every hand somehow, from my mannerisms. When I have two cards that I know add up to not much, such as a two sided and a three sided, I don't look much further and just wait for the dealer to open the opposing side at my request. I spend a tad more time looking to see if I have something good, if the combination of the two cards are such that there is hope that they will add up to 6 or better. But it was as if every time I looked at my cards, whether quickly or less than quickly, this dealer kept saying, "I know you have something good." Finally I had to say, "Come on - I don't get a nine EVERY time," and the dealer came back with, "I know you _____, you ALWAYS win." I actually didn't like playing with that dealer today because it interrupted the flow of my thinking to have that subtle pressure on me to win every hand. Maybe it had to do with that the hot young Asian girl (who wasn't by any means a skank - as corny as it might sound, she was a lovely girl) was local, and the dealers knew her even better than they knew me, and they wanted me to win for her. Certainly the girl was tipping out more than I was today! she had a green chip on the side of so many of her bets it eventually seemed as though it were a permanent appendage.
Anyway, I was fine with two grand. A win is a win. Until tomorrow.
I do believe I play best alone.
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